Gravity Falls: Revenge of The Shape Shifter
by Topaz88
Summary: A few days after Stan activates the portal and brings Ford through, he initiates a town meeting to explain why the town was nearly destroyed. Someone in the audience, however, has a vendetta against Stanford...
1. Chapter 1

Dipper came down the stairs, rubbing his eyes. His twin sister Mabel had already rushed in ahead of him, and bounced into a seat at the kitchen table next to their great uncle.

"You're sure full of—" Grunkle Stan hid his face behind the newspaper, but both Dipper and Mabel heard him yawn—" energy."

"Are you okay, Grunkle Stan? "Dipper asked, taking a seat across from his sister.

"Yeah, just didn't get much sleep last night."

Dipper looked at his twin sister across the table, and she returned the gaze. Neither of them could believe that their con-artist uncle had agreed to reveal to the town what had caused it to be nearly torn apart—his activation of the interdimensional portal in the basement. They both guessed that he had been awake most of the night thinking about it.

"Good Morning, everyone."

Stan, Mabel and Dipper looked to see Stan's twin brother (a.k.a the great uncle Dipper and Mabel didn't know they had until recently) in the doorway.

"Good morning, Great Uncle Ford."

Ford took a seat at the end of the table across from his brother. He could see the headline of the paper:

 **Local Businessman to Reveal Secret at Town Meeting Today!**

"Are you okay, Stan? "

"Yeah, Sixer, I'm fine."

Stan put down the paper. "I just—I can't believe I'm doing this. The town's gonna hate me."

Ford sighed. "The portal is a powerful machine—you didn't know how powerful. I apologize again, but that's the reason I hit you when I came out of the portal. I don't know what kind of damage it might have caused to the space-time continuum—"

Stan rolled the paper up and held it up mock-threateningly. "What did I say, Sixer? One, stop apologizing! Two, no nerd-speak at the table this early in the morning, or I'm going to come over there and hit _you_! "

Ford held up his hands defensively. "Okay, okay, Stan! Sheesh! "

Dipper looked up at his Great Uncle Ford—more specifically, his hands. Grunkle Stan had explained to them that his twin brother had been born with a birth defect that had given him six fingers on each hand—and it had been a tracing of one of those hands that adorned the front of the journals Dipper had been obsessed with all summer. To think, he was actually related to the author of the journals…

"Hey, Dip! Dipper! Yoo-hoo, come back!"

Dipper blinked and looked over at his sister. "Huh, what? "

"Come on; let's set the table, fan boy!"

Dipper felt himself blush, realizing that he'd been staring again. "Uh, yeah, sure, Mabel—let's do that. "

He got out of his seat and followed Mabel to the refrigerator.

"So, Sixer, when was the last time you saw one of these? "Stan asked, sliding the newspaper across the table to his brother.

Ford stared at the paper a moment, and then picked it up. "Wow. Not for a really long time, Stan."

He opened the paper. "Oh my—there was a fire near here?"

Stan nodded. "Yeah—burned some trees, but fortunately they got it out before it got to town. "

Ford turned back to the front page of the paper, read the headline and looked up at his twin brother. "I've got to say, I always thought you'd make the front page because you won some title bout in a boxing match or something. "

Stan sighed. "Yeah. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. "

"Stan, it'll be fine."

Ford held up one of his hands. "High six?"

Stan smiled at the phrase he often used himself when he and his brother were growing up. "High six."


	2. Chapter 2

A few hours later, Stan, Mabel and Dipper sat in chairs on a stage in the town square. A smell of smoke still hung in the air from the recent forest fire.

Dipper leaned over and whispered to Mabel, "I wonder if anything happened to that bunker we found in the woods in that fire."

"Dipper, now's not the time for thinking of mysteries! Shh! There's the mayor! "

The aging mayor was rolled to a podium in his wheelchair and handed a microphone.

"Citizens of Gravity Falls," he began, "It is my pleasure to introduce to you our beloved Stanford Pines, owner of the Mystery Shack. "

After a push from Dipper and Mabel, Stan stumbled over to the podium, taking the microphone from the mayor. There was random clapping from the crowd.

"Uh—yeah—thanks, Mayor. Um—I—well—"

"What have you got to tell us, Stan?" came the whining voice of Toby Determined, Gravity Falls' town reporter.

Stan rolled his eyes at the fact that Toby was holding a turkey baster as opposed to a microphone, then looked to the opening to the backstage. Ford gave him a double "thumbs-up".

"Uh—well, first of all—my name's not Stanford."

There was a gasp from the crowd.

"It's—it's Stanley. Also—"

He turned and looked over his shoulder at Dipper and Mabel. Dipper gave him a "thumbs up" and Mabel held up a small sign she'd made that said, "You go, Grunkle Stan!"

Stan sighed. "I—I've made a lot of mistakes in my life—and because of those mistakes, I've taken on—well, different identities. I—the reason that so many buildings in town got wrecked, including the Mystery Shack, mind you, which I am still paying for—"

The crowd groaned.

"The reason is—that there was a—a dimensional portal-thing in my basement that—that I activated so that I could get back my twin brother. "

For a moment there was silence.

A large woman with one closed eyelid came to the front of the crowd. "You have a twin brother? "

Someone else yelled, "You're the reason the town got wrecked? "

Everyone was talking at once. Dipper and Mabel got out of their seats, wondering when their Grunkle Stan would run and which direction so that they could follow him.

Suddenly everyone went silent.

Stan felt something on his shoulder, and turned to see Ford there.

"Folks, please!" Ford said, "This is not Stanley's fault. I'm his brother Stanford. Years ago I built a dimensional portal that, unfortunately, I realized was too powerful, and in my own pride I refused to shut it down, as my colleague warned me I should. "

Dipper scanned the crowd. There near the edge was "Old Man McGucket", the town 'kook', who actually had been that colleague that Great Uncle Stanford spoke of. If he hadn't learned about it himself, as well as had details filled in by Great Uncle Stanford, Dipper never would have believed it.

Stanford continued. "I was sucked into that portal, and I've spent the last twenty-five years in another dimension."

The crowd gave a collective gasp.

Mabel giggled. "It's funny how they can do that. "

Great Uncle Stanford looked at Grunkle Stan. "So, really, since I built the portal, it's my fault what happened to the town. Stanley was only trying to get me back. I don't think he realized what it would do. "

"So, how is everything going to get fixed?" someone shouted.

"Oh, come on!" the large woman with the one closed eyelid turned to the crowd. "Things are getting fixed! My diner's almost ready for buisness again!"

Dipper and Mabel looked at each other. They could always count on "Lazy Susan" to put a bright spin on things.

"Yeah, and my sawmill hardly got much damage at all! I built it too tough!" "Manly Dan" Corduroy bellowed, shaking a large fist. "Besides, I can provide all the lumber this town needs for rebuilding, right boys? "

Three boys all varying in size with red hair like their father (and older sister Wendy, who worked at the Mystery Shack) all punched their fists into the air and yelled, "Yeaahh!"

The look of tension on Stan's face relaxed a little. "Anyway, I'm really sorry—"he glanced at Ford—"—but if I had to do it all over again, I would. "

Dipper looked through the crowd. He had met all of them during the summer at one point or another. Then, his eye caught a stranger at the back edge of the crowd.

The strange man was muscular, wearing a thin t-shirt (that was evidently meant to show off those muscles), jeans and boots.

He leaned over to Mabel. "Who's that guy? "

Mabel followed Dipper's gaze. "Ooo. I don't know, but I sure wouldn't mind meeting him. "

Dipper rolled his eyes. "Yechh. He must have a gallon of hair gel on his head. Looks like one of the guys off the covers of your girl magazines."

"Hey, they're better than your nerdy 'Science Monthly' things."

Mabel's eyes widened, she put her hands up and said in a deep voice, "Look at me, I'm Mister Science, I'm going to be all smart like Great Uncle Ford. "

Dipper rolled his eyes and looked back at the stranger. He wasn't interacting with anyone, he just stood there, looking—right at Grunkle Stan and Great Uncle Ford, the latter of whom by this time was being introduced to people that were coming up on the stage. When Dipper turned back to look toward the stranger, the man was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

"See, Stanley, that wasn't so bad." Stanford said as they returned to the Mystery Shack.

"Yeah, I guess. I'm going to be ready for someone to come and burn the place down during the night, though. "

Ford took his glasses off and cleaned one of the lenses with a handkerchief. "Somehow I doubt that, Stanley. "

He headed for the vending machine. I'm going to go downstairs and work on my research. "Call me for lunch, won't you? "

Stan rolled his eyes. "Sure, Poindexter." he said, shaking his head and heading out to see how the repairs were coming on the Shack.

Dipper watched his great uncle punch in the code on the vending machine.

"Um, Great Uncle Ford? "

The man put his glasses back on and turned as the vending machine hissed open. "Yes, Dipper? "

"Um—can I ask you something? "

"Certainly, Dipper—come downstairs. Just please don't touch anything. I don't want you to get hurt. "

Dipper grinned. He'd fought a giant compilation of gnomes, hunted for a sea serpent, and even fought zombies, and his great uncle wanted him to be careful…

Shaking his head, he followed Ford downstairs.

Ford grabbed a folding chair leaning against one of his computer banks, unfolded it and patted the seat. "Sit down, son. What did you want to ask me? "

Dipper sat down and looked up at his uncle. "Well, sir—once, Mabel, Wendy, Soos and I were in the forest, and we found—well, we found this old bunker in a—well, under a tree…"

Ford's eyes widened. "You found the old bunker? I hope nothing was inside. "

Dipper rubbed the back of his head. "Actually, there was—well, there was a guy down there—at least, we thought it was a guy—at first, I thought that he was you—that is—I thought that he was the author of the journals. It turned out that he—it—was this awful shape-shifter thing—"

His great uncle drew a sharp breath. "The shape shifter? Dipper, were any of you hurt? "

Dipper shuddered. "Well, Wendy got conked on the head when she hit it on a rock—and—her arm got scraped up when she fought with it- nothing else, but man, that thing was scary. We defeated it by freezing it in one of those pod things down there. "

Ford sighed as if with relief. "Thank goodness. "

"Great Uncle Ford, if you do experiments down here, why did you have the bunker? "

His great uncle pursed his lips, then explained, "Well, Dipper, some of the creatures I came across in my research were very dangerous. I tried to contain them in those pods when they became too difficult to handle. The shape shifter was actually one of the first creatures I studied. "

Dipper thought back. "When we 'met' it, it looked like a guy from—the early nineteen hundreds or something. Then we found an old can of beans and realized that it had taken the form of the guy on the can. "

Ford nodded. "It was very versatile; an amazing creature—but unfortunately very intelligent. Since it spent so much time with me, it became almost—human. "

Dipper blinked, remembering how the creature spoke. Its English was perfect. Looking at his great Uncle's hands again, he remembered it saying,

"That six-fingered nerd hasn't been himself in thirty years! "

"It—it seemed to—not like you very much. "

"Mmmm."

Dipper's great uncle's eyes dimmed. "The more intelligent it became, the more dangerous it became—it demanded to be let out of its cage, and the more I saw its temper the more I realized that I had to refuse. I don't know how it managed to escape from the containment unit I had it in. I should have put it into one of the freezing pods to begin with. "

Dipper frowned at seeing the defeated look in his great-uncle's eyes. "You don't think—the fire that was in the forest—did anything? I mean, to the things in the bunker? "

Ford looked thoughtful. "Good question, Dipper. I'll have to go and check that out. I hadn't used any of those things in years—even before I built the portal—so I'm curious to see if anything is left. "

Dipper's heart skipped a beat. How he would love to go with his great-uncle…

"Great Uncle Ford? Could I-?"

Ford raised an eyebrow. "Dipper—it was dangerous enough for you and the others to even have gone into that bunker. I definitely don't want you out there when the forest is still smoldering from the fire. "

Dipper didn't hide the look of disappointment on his face.

"Son," Dipper's great-uncle put a hand on the boy's shoulder and got on one knee in front of him, "I know you've done a lot while you've been here, and seen all kinds of things. But if you or your sister were to get hurt on my watch, I couldn't forgive myself. I don't think my brother would forgive me, either. "

Dipper sighed. "I understand."

Just then a voice came from upstairs.

"Poindexter! Dipper! Get up here or I'm going to get Soos over here to eat your lunch! You can talk all science-y-nerdy later! "

Ford chuckled and stood up. "Well, Dipper, we'd better get up there. I see my brother hasn't lost any of his charm. "

Dipper returned his uncle's grin, hopped out of the chair and went with him up the stairs.


	4. Chapter 4

After lunch, Dipper watched sadly as Great Uncle Ford headed for the door, coat on and large gun of some sort strapped onto his back.

"Where you going to be, Sixer? " Stan asked.

"Just going out to the woods to check on an old favorite spot of mine," he shot a grin at Dipper. "I should be home by dinner. "

He went out the door.

Stan sighed. "Be safe, Stanford." Dipper heard him say under his breath.

"Hey, Dip! Want to play the new Duck-tective based Clue game you got? "

Dipper sighed. "Sure, Mabel. Coming. "

One of Ford's boots stamped out an ember on the forest floor. He looked around.

"Goodness. Such destruction. Where in this forest could that tree have been? "

He went further into the forest. It was eerily quiet, and the smell of smoke permeated the air.

"Let me see…"

Ford walked about a hundred yards more.

"Oh, my. "

Off to his left was a giant hole. It was full of ash and dirt. Ford went over to it and brushed some of the ash away with his hand. Underneath was what remained of a step that used to lead down into the bunker.

"Well, that's certainly not safe to go down." he said with a sigh. "I don't have any climbing equipment with me, and that staircase is no doubt half burned away—"

"CRACK!"

Ford stood and whirled around. A muscular young man in a thin t-shirt, jeans, and boots stood there. He carried a duffle bag over one shoulder.

"Oh—you startled me." Ford said. "You should be careful—you could give an old man a heart attack. "

The newcomer looked him up and down. "You're not that old. I'm guessing you're—about sixty-two now? "

Instinctively, Ford felt his body tense. That was his exact age. "How—how did you know how old I was? And what do you mean, "now"? Do I know you? "

"Oh, you certainly do know me, Stanford."

Ford's fists balled. The man's voice had suddenly gone several octaves deeper. Then before his eyes, the newcomer's eyes became bulbous, and his left arm turned into a tentacle that shot out at him.

"What-?"

Stanford jumped to the side. The tentacle missed him, but he started to lose his footing and fall backward toward the hole.

"Noo—"

The tentacle wrapped around Ford, catching him before he fell in. It drew him closer to the young man—creature.

"Let me-go!" Ford cried, struggling.

"Ah, so you have some fight in you now."

"Who—what are you? What do you want with me? "

"All in due time, Stanford-all in due time."

The young man put down the duffle bag. His other arm became a tentacle, and a third tentacle shot out from his shoulder.

"Let go of me!" Ford cried, still struggling. "Someone, hel-mmmph!"

The creature wrapped the new tentacle around his prisoner's mouth. "Ah-ah. None of that."

With the fourth tentacle the creature unzipped the duffle bag and took out a bottle. With a fifth tentacle he undid the lid of the bottle, and poured a bit of its contents onto a cloth. He unwrapped the portion of the tentacle that covered Ford's mouth, but before Ford could cry out the creature slapped the cloth over Ford's mouth and nose.

"Hlllllph! Mmmmmph! "

Ford tried struggling, but after a few moments his eyes rolled back in his head and his body went limp.

"Much better." The man-creature said. "You always did talk too much."

The creature put Ford on the ground and retracted its tentacles. In its human form it removed Ford's duster, then undid the buckle of the strap that held the large gun on his back. Leaving the duster and gun on the ground, the "man" threw his unconscious captive over his shoulder, and walked deeper into the forest.


	5. Chapter 5

From their seats on the couch, Dipper and Mabel both looked at their Grunkle Stan, who in turn had opened the front door and looked around for the fifth time in half an hour.

"Where _are_ you, Sixer?" they heard him mutter.

"Grunkle Stan, you don't think—something happened to Great Uncle Ford—do you?" Dipper said cautiously.

Dipper and Mabel's "Grunkle" frowned deeply as he closed the door and turned to them. "I hope he's just engrossed in whatever "science-y" thing he's out there looking at," Stan said, "—but I have a bad feeling. "

Dipper got off the couch. "Grunkle Stan, why don't—"

"No." their great uncle said, closing the door. "You're not going out there when it's nearly dark and looking for Ford. I'm going, and I'm going to call Soos and Wendy to come over here and watch you. "

Mabel got off the couch and came to stand by her brother. "Grunkle Stan, you _do_ realize that once Soos and Wendy get here, we're just going to convince them to follow you so that we can help find Great Uncle Ford, right? "

Dipper grinned and glanced at his sister approvingly. That was his thought exactly.

Stan smacked his face with his hand. "All right, fine. Dipper, go make the calls. "

Dipper ran to the phone and dialed Soos' number.

"…chomp-chomp-*gulp*-Ramirez residence. "

"Soos! We need you down at the Shack!" Dipper told him.

"Whoa—dude. My abuelita and I just got done with dinner—what's up? "

"Well, it's our Great Uncle Ford. He went to the woods this earlier this afternoon to explore and he said he'd be home by dinner and he hasn't come back, and Grunkle Stan's getting worried, and—"

"Dude. Say no more. I will be right there."

"Thanks, Soos."

Dipper hung up and dialed Wendy's number.

"Yeah ! Corduroy's Lumber! Boys! The plates are _not_ Frisbees _!"_

Dipper gulped. Even on the phone Wendy's dad was intimidating.

"Um—hi—sir—this—this is Dipper Pines. Is Wendy available—I mean, can she come to the phone?"

" _Boys_!"

Dipper had to hold the phone away from his ear. When he returned it Wendy's father was saying,

"—just a sec. _Wendy_! "

Dipper rubbed his ear to try to stop it from ringing, and after a couple of seconds put the phone next to it again.

"Hey, Dip, what's up? "

"Wendy—I have some bad news—at least, I hope it's not bad news—anyway, we need your help. "

"Dipper, you sound worried. What's the matter? "

"Well, it's my Great Uncle Ford. He went to explore in the woods hours ago and he hasn't come back."

"Oh, yeah—Stan's twin brother Soos told me about. He's missing? Well, I can't have that, I haven't met the guy yet. I'll be right over. Want me to call Soos? "

"Already did that. Uh—aren't you just sitting down to dinner? "

"Ah, Tambry and the guys and I went out for pizza an hour ago. Besides, dinner around here's a mad house. "

Dipper could hear Wendy's father yelling at Wendy's brothers in the background.

"I'll be right there, Dip. Later. "


	6. Chapter 6

Ford woke up to his head throbbing. He tried to move to put his hand on his forehead, but his hand wouldn't move.

"What—"

It took a moment for his eyes to focus. He was inside what appeared to be a large one-roomed building made of wood, like a barn—with beams spaced about five feet from each other along the walls. After regaining consciousness a bit more, he realized that his wrists and ankles had been bound to two of those beams.

The man who'd knocked him out was over to his left, rummaging through a box. He had re-taken the form of the young man Ford had met in the forest—minus the tentacles. Upon hearing Ford stir, he turned and smiled.

"Ah, you're awake. "

Ford shook his head to clear the remaining cobwebs from it. "Where are we? "

The man walked over to him, a screwdriver in his hand. "That's none of your concern right now. "

Ford tried to pull himself away from the wall, but to no avail. "Let-me-go!"

"Shhhhh." His captor said, placing two fingers on Ford's lips. "Now don't tire yourself out. I want you to be full of energy when I have my fun with you. "

Ford pursed his lips and asked, "What—what are you going to do?"

The young man/creature stuck its tongue out, and Ford noted that it was forked. "Well, now, I'm not sure yet." It looked at the screwdriver in its hand. I could take this screwdriver and—"

He made a quick move as if to jam the screwdriver into Ford's head. Ford flinched and shut his eyes tightly, but his captor stopped with the screwdriver blade an inch from his captive's temple.

"—but no. What fun would that be? "

The man pulled his arm back and tapped the screwdriver blade into his palm. "No—I'm going to have to think of some things I can do with—that is, _to_ —you. "

It dropped the screwdriver on the ground and its arms became tentacles again. "One thing I need to do is see if you have any extra weapons hidden on you. "

One of the tentacles went into each of Ford's pockets, and the other went under his sweater.

Ford twitched and giggled. "S-stop that. "

The man/creature snorted. "I forgot that you were ticklish."

It felt around Ford's back, then went up each sleeve, then felt over his chest and stomach.

"S-stop it—p-ha-ha-please! " Ford cried, trying to wiggle away but of course to no avail.

"Remember the time when I was small, and I crawled into your shirt?" Ford's captor asked. "I had never heard anyone laugh so hard and so loud. I couldn't find my way out for about five minutes before your little partner McGucket came in and pulled me out. "

Ford couldn't believe it. _The shape shifter_!

Just then the creature deliberately tickled Ford's ribs to make him laugh harder, then pulled off Ford's boots and turned them upside down. A six-inch bowie knife fell out of one of them. The young man/shape shifter kicked it away.

"Well." It said, "—as much as I'd like to make you laugh yourself silly, I have to go and find some other things to—have fun with you with. "

Ford put his head down and continued giggling even after the shape shifter had taken its tentacle out of his sweater.

"Humans are so sensitive." The shape shifter grumbled, returning to the box it had been rummaging through. Finding a roll of duct tape, it tore off a piece, lifted Ford's chin and firmly placed the tape over his mouth.

"Be good while I'm gone."

Ford watched the shape shifter's tentacles retract and turn back into human arms. Then, it walked out the door and shut it.


	7. Chapter 7

"Okay, everyone, let's go." Stan said. Dipper saw him take a set of brass knuckles out of a desk drawer and slip them into his shirt pocket.

"So, Dip, you think that your great uncle went out looking for the shape shifter bunker? " Wendy asked him.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure." Dipper answered; turning on the flashlight he had with him to make sure the batteries were okay.

"Man, I wonder if anything happened," Soos said, closing the front door behind him. "—to the bunker, I mean. That was a pretty hot fire out there, I heard. "

"I hope Great Uncle Ford isn't hurt. "Mabel said in as low a tone as she could.

Beside her, Dipper nodded, looking ahead of him at Grunkle Stan.

The group walked out of the Shack and down the road, then into the forest.

"Dipper!" Grunkle Stan called over his shoulder. "I need you up here with that flashlight!"

Dipper hurried to his great uncle's side.

"Now, "Stan asked, "-where did you kids say that that bunker was? "

"It wasn't too far into the forest, Grunkle Stan." Dipper told him. "—and It was over on the left side."

He shined the flash light over to the left. The trees looked rather eerie, but Dipper ignored it. Then—

"There!" Wendy cried.

The flashlight shined on where the tree used to be. It was now a gaping hole.

"No!" Stan cried out. "Dipper, give me the flashlight !"

The boy held the flash light out, and his great uncle fairly grabbed it from his hand. He shined it near the edge of the hole.

"Oh, no." Soos muttered.

They all saw the abandoned duster and the large gun Ford had taken with him there on the ground. Stan ran forward and fell on his knees next to them.

"No—Stanford!" Without saying aloud that he was doing so, Stan scanned the duster for any sign of blood. There appeared to be none. Standing up, he shouted, "Stanfo-o-o-ord! Stanford, where are you? "

Wendy pulled a second flashlight off of her belt and studied the ground. Getting down on her knee she said, "Everyone, look at this. "

Stan and the others crowded around they saw two sets of footprints on the ground.

"Huh. Look." Soos said, "Someone was standing here by the hole, and then someone else with bigger feet was here facing them. Then—"

Wendy shone her flashlight further. "The bigger footprints go that way. "

"But—Dipper went over to the hole. "It doesn't look like anything's been disturbed over here—so no one went down or fell in."

"So then someone—"Wendy looked over at the abandoned duster and gun, then the single set of footprints leading away from the hole. She didn't want to say what she was thinking.

With a shaky voice Stan said it for her. "Someone may have kidnapped my brother. "


	8. Chapter 8

Back at the Mystery Shack, an air of gloom hung over everyone.

Stan looked at the phone, wondering if a ransom call would come, or who would even do this.

"Mister Pines, if it's okay with you, I'm going to call my abuelita and stay here tonight." Soos said.

"No, Soos. I don't expect you to—"

"I mean it, Mister Pines." There was a deep frown on the twenty-two year old's face. "You're like a dad to me, and I want to be here for you. "

Stan blinked slowly and looked the young man in the eye. "Thank you, Soos. "

Wendy looked at the clock. "I have to go, Stan, but I'll be back first thing tomorrow. Call me if anything happens. "

"Thank you, Wendy."

Dipper saw Wendy to the door. "We probably shouldn't say anything about Great Uncle Ford being missing. "he told her in a low tone.

"No worries, Dip. " Wendy assured him. She glanced over at Stan, who wiped a tear from his eye when he thought no one was looking. "Stan can be a hard boss, but he's a good guy. I hate to see him hurting like this. "

She returned her gaze to Dipper. "I'll be right back first thing in the morning. "

"Sure thing. "

Ford was back in the basement of his home, and Stan was about to burn the journal Ford had given Stan to hide. He tried to get it back and the two fought, but Stanley accidentally turned the portal on. He pushed Ford, causing him to get caught up in the light of the portal. Stanford started to rise into the air, being pulled back into the portal's opening.

"Stanley! Stanley, help me!"

His flustered brother stood frozen.

"Oh, no-what do I do?"

"Stanley! Stanley, do something! _Stanley_!"

There was a flash of light, and suddenly Ford felt something strike him in the face.

"Oh !"

Ford's head snapped to the side, and he opened his eyes. He was met with the wooden walls of his prison again.

"Hm. Seems you were dreaming. "

Ford turned his head back and looked at the shape shifter, which stood there in its human form. In one hand it held the tape that had been on Ford's mouth. In the other hand was a long device with a handle at one end and a metal bar protruding from the handle. The bar ended in prongs.

"Wh-what is that? "Ford asked.

"Oh, something I'm going to have a bit of fun with you with." The shape shifter said, grinning. "What's the matter, nerd? I thought that you knew everything. "

Ford's captor tossed the tape away, lifted Ford's sweater, then jammed the prongs of the device into his side.

"AAAAAAUUUUGH! "

Ford felt a searing electric shock rip through him. He thought he was being torn apart.

"Now," the shape shifter said, pulling the device away. "Wasn't that more fun than my tickling you? I thought so. "

Ford swallowed hard. "Please, what do you want? I'll do any-"AAAAAGH! NOOOO !"

His captor had poked the device directly into his stomach. "Well, for starters," it said, "You can tell me who Stanley is. "

"Wh-wha-?"

"You were yelling his name in your sleep after I took the tape off of your mouth." the shape shifter told him. "Who is he? "

It slipped the device under Ford's sweater and poked it into his underarm.

"AAAIIIEEEE! NOO! PLEASE ! "

"Tell me." Ford's captor said casually, sticking the implement of torture into Ford's other underarm.

"NOOOOOO! "

The shape shifter sighed. "Fine."

It got down on its knee, pulled Ford's sock off and stuck the prongs of the device on the bottom of Ford's foot.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Ford felt as though the inside of his leg were burning. He didn't know how much longer he could take this.

"Who-is-Stanley?" the shape shifter asked again, threatening to jam the device into Ford's chest.

"He—" Ford tried to think of something that would make the shape shifter believe Stanley wasn't anywhere in Oregon—though he didn't know if he and his captor were still _in_ Oregon. "He's my—my brother. He and I grew up in New Jersey—on the other side of the country. "

"And you came to Gravity Falls."

"Yes—I had heard that it was—the one place on the continent most full of anomalies. "

Ford was still trying to catch his breath. He prayed that the shape shifter wouldn't shock him again.

"Anomalies, eh?" the shape shifter said, jamming the implement of torture into the sole of Ford's foot. "You mean, like me?"

Ford could only scream.


	9. Chapter 9

Dipper came down the stairs the next morning, yawning and stretching. It had been a long night.

The first thing he saw upon reaching the bottom of the stairs was Grunkle Stan. He was in the chair in front of the television, still in his clothes from the day before, asleep.

 _He's probably been there all night._ Dipper thought, frowning.

"Hey dude, how—"

Dipper turned back to see Soos, now at the bottom of the stairs. The young man had stopped in mid-sentence when he saw Stan was asleep.

"I'm okay." Dipper said softly. "I didn't sleep much last night—Mabel was really upset and wanted to talk. "

Soos nodded. "It's not fair." He said, lowering his voice. "You guys just get a new great-uncle and this happens. "

Dipper sighed. How would they ever find Great Uncle Ford?

"Hey, guys."

Soos and Dipper turned to see Mabel with a stack of magazines in her arms.

"Whoa, what're you doing, Mabel?" Dipper asked, taking half the stack out of his sister's arms, as she looked as though she were about to drop them from the weight.

"Just getting rid of stuff." Mabel half-groaned. "I didn't know what else to do, so I cleaned my half of the room. "

Dipper glanced down at the magazine on the top of the stack he held. On the cover was a young man with dark hair with enough hair gel in it for three heads. He wore a tight white t-shirt, jeans, and boots—

"Oh my gosh!" Dipper cried.

"Huh, what?"

Dipper, Soos, and Mabel looked to see that Dipper's shouting had woken up their Grunkle Stan. He had taken his glasses off and was rubbing his eye. "What're you kids yelling about? "

"Grunkle Stan." Dipper said in a lower tone, "I think I found something."

He set the stack of magazines in his arms on the floor, then took the one off of the top and brought it to his great-uncle.

Stan put his glasses back on and yawned. When he looked at what his great-nephew had brought over he said, "Eh—Dipper, I'm really not in the mood to be looking at pre-teeny-bopper magazines. "

"No, Grunkle Stan—this guy." Ford pointed to the man on the cover. "I saw this guy in the back of the crowd when you were telling everyone about what happened with the portal and all yesterday. "

Stan's brows drew together. "Wha—what does some model guy have to do with anything? "

Mabel suddenly realized what Dipper was getting at. She slapped both hands on the sides of her face. "Oh, my gosh—Dipper, you think it was the shape shifter?"

Stan shut his eyes tight, then opened them again. "Shape shifter? What are you kids talkin' about? "

There was a knock at the door. Soos went to get it, and upon opening it found Wendy on the porch.

"Hey, guys, I—"

"Wendy, come in! Dipper thinks that the guy who took Mr. Pines' brother is the shape shifter!"

Wendy shook her head as if to clear it. "What? How is that possible? We froze that thing in one of those—chamber—things. "

Dipper went to the door, took Wendy by the hand, and pulled her in. "Wendy, look at this!"

He fairly dragged the older girl over to Grunkle Stan, who still was holding the magazine. Wendy looked over his shoulder at it.

"Uh—it's a guy who obviously likes hair gel way too much. Hey, you know, I think I saw a guy who looked like this yesterday at—"

She stopped and looked at Dipper. "You've _got_ to be kidding me."

" _What_ are you kids talking about? " Stan demanded, thoroughly confused.

In turns, his great niece and nephew, Wendy, and Soos told Stan how they had gone looking for the author of the mysterious journals, and found the shape shifter in the bunker.

"Huh. So—maybe that fire out there melted him out of his cage-thingy? "Stan surmised, rubbing his chin.

"Yeah…and—it really didn't seem to like the author—Great Uncle Ford-at all." Dipper blurted out, then immediately regretted saying it, wondering what thoughts it would put in Grunkle Stan's mind.

Stan's eyes narrowed. "So what you're saying is—some monster may have my brother. "

Dipper drew a nervous breath and exhaled. "Yes, sir—it could be. "

Stan smacked his fist into his palm. "Well. When I get a hold of this shape shifter thing—if it's done anything to hurt Stanford-it's going to be sorry. "


	10. Chapter 10

Stan got out of his chair and went through the door to the shop. Dipper and Mabel could only look at each other, as did Wendy and Soos. When Stan came back—

"Uh—G-Grunkle Stan, do you know how to use that thing? "Mabel asked, seeing that Stan had retrieved the large gun that Ford usually carried.

"No, Mabel, I don't." Stan answered. "Right now, though, I can see it's got a trigger, and most guns work by pulling the trigger. I'm going back out to the forest and I'm going to track that thing down. No one messes with _my_ brother and gets away with it. "

Behind him, Dipper heard Soos *gulp*. None of the young people had ever seen Stan this angry.

Stan turned and headed for the door. "Now, if you kids want to follow me, that's fine. If things get dangerous, though, I want all four of you out of the way—got it? "

"Y-yes, sir, Mister Pines." Soos said, casting a nervous glance at Wendy, who mirrored the glance.

They all followed Stan out the door – though at a bit of a distance.

Grrrrrowrrrr!

Ford tried to think of something besides his empty stomach—for hours he had tried to think of something other than the situation he was in. All of the crazy monsters he'd encountered and fought with in that other dimension—at least he'd escaped from all of them. Now that he'd finally gotten home, and he was the captive of another monster—and he was beginning to wonder if he'd ever see his twin brother again.

"My goodness, what was that? " the shape shifter said, looking up from the book it was perusing.

Ford drew a ragged breath and exhaled, but didn't answer.

His captor got up, walked over to where the bowie knife still lay on the floor, and picked it up. Coming closer to Ford, he grabbed a handful of his dark grey hair and pulled his head back. Ford felt the cold blade of the knife against his throat.

"I _said_ ," the shape shifter hissed, " _What_ was _that_? "

"I—I'm either hungry or I—just have gasses moving around in my digestive tract." Ford answered. "P-please-please don't—"

The shape shifter pressed the knife blade a bit harder into Ford's throat, and then pulled it away. "Oh, don't worry. You're not going to get off that easily. I was just looking through this book—" it held up the book it had been reading— _Modern Methods of Torture-_ "—searching for something else I can do to you. No—no quick deaths for you. It is going to be slow, uncomfortable and painful. "

Ford tried to choke back a sob, but was unsuccessful.

"Tsk," Ford's captor said, lifting his captive's chin and looking him in the eye. "Now, now—that's hardly any way for a man of your age to react. Save your crying and screaming for the next thing I try on you. "

It cast the knife away again and went back to sitting by the wall and looking at the book.

Ford turned his head to face the building door, and a tear slid down his cheek.


	11. Chapter 11

For a long time, the only sounds were the crunching of leaves under everyone's feet and their breathing.

Stan stopped at the hole that once led down to the bunker again.

"Now where are those footprints?" he grumbled.

Dipper and Wendy both came forward and looked at the ground. There had been no breeze and certainly no rain the night before, so the footprints were still there. The two pointed almost simultaneously at them.

"All right—Dipper—I want you up here with me. You're closer to the ground and have better eyes than I do. Follow those footprints-. "

Dipper gulped and watched Wendy backpedal to her position behind Stan. "Sure, Grunkle Stan—"

"—and when I say get behind me, _get_ behind me. Understood? "

Dipper nodded. "Yes, sir. "

For about half an hour, Dipper kept his eyes on the ground. The footprints were fairly plain, aside from the odd leaf that had gone over one of them. The soft dirt had preserved them well.

Suddenly, Dipper stopped.

"What's the matter?" Stan asked.

Mabel bit her lip. She had never heard her "Grunkle" speak in such a harsh tone has he'd been using that day.

"It's going to be okay." Wendy whispered in her ear. "Stan's just really worried about his brother."

"I know." Mabel answered. "I just want Great Uncle Ford to be safe, and I want this to be over. "

Soos noted that Dipper looked distressed. "I—I don't see the footprints anymore. "

" _What_?" his "Grunkle said almost angrily.

"Hey, look." Soos said, coming over to the bushes beside the trail. "Somebody went through here. A lot of the branches of these bushes are squashed and broken. "

Dipper exhaled. "Thanks, Soos."

"No worries, dude. Two years in the cub scouts taught me somethin'. "

"All right," Stan said, glowering. "Everyone behind me. We're going this way. "

The others had to make a single file line behind Stan to go on the narrow path that had been made through the bushes. Eventually they came out of the forest and into a meadow. Everyone stood together looked around.

"Great. Where do we go now?" Wendy said in a low mumble.

Dipper looked around almost frantically. What would Grunkle Stan do if this was a dead end?

"Hey, what's that up there? "His sister suddenly asked.

Everyone's eyes followed the direction Mabel's finger was pointing. On the other side of a meadow, the ground sloped upward, and the forest seemed to continue at the top of the slope. Almost hidden in the trees was a wooden structure that looked as though it may have fallen if there was a strong wind.

There was a moment of silence, and then there was a faint noise in the distance.

"Wh-what was that? " Soos asked of no one in particular, and then it came again:

A scream.

Stan's eyes widened, and then narrowed. "Get behind me, kids." he said in a voice that was almost a growl. " _Now_. "


	12. Chapter 12

The group headed across the meadow to the structure, which they could see looked like some kind of large shed as they came closer.

There was another scream. This time they could hear it more clearly, and a familiar voice shouted,

"Please, stop!"

Stan's eyes went wide. "Stanford!"

The older man started running up the hill. The four young people behind him almost couldn't keep up.

When they came to the top of the slope, they saw no door on the side of the building they were on. Voices came through the thin wooden walls.

"Please, stop—I'm sorry that I've upset you—"

"Upset me? You used me as one of your little experiments!"

"But—I never performed any experiments on you! I only—"

"Shut up!" the other voice shouted, and there was another scream.

Dipper looked up at his great uncle, whose face had turned red.

"Stand back, kids !"

Before any of the young people had time to move, Stan pulled Stanford's large gun back, then rammed it into the wall. Mabel and Dipper just looked at each other. They'd only seen their great uncle behaving nearly this fierce once, when he tried to rescue Mabel's pet pig from pterodactyl. Now—

Bash! Crack !

Two of the boards broke, and Stan shoved his way through them, disregarding the splinters he might have received. After a second, Soos went in behind him. Wendy followed, then Dipper and Mabel.

On the other side of the large room, Dipper and Mabel saw their great-uncle Stanford bound to the beams on the wall by his wrists and ankles. His sweater had been pulled up over his head so that his stomach and chest were exposed. There were several long cuts on his body.

A young man stood in front of Stanford with a bicycle chain in his hand. He turned and smiled as Stan burst in.

"Well, well." He said. "You must be Stanley. "

Stan was seething. He aimed the gun at the man and his eyes narrowed. "Get-away-from my _brother_! "

The man stepped directly between Stan and Ford. "Oh, no-he hasn't paid for his crimes, yet. "

"He's done _nothing_!" Stan said through gritted teeth.

The shape shifter shook his head, and then looked over at Stan's young companions. "Ah. I remember you. I really should get back at you, too, for freezing me in that pod the way you did. "

Suddenly the man's body seemed to begin to melt. It became rounder, then longer, and a waxy white color. Dipper, Mabel, Wendy and Soos recognized that it was taking its true form.

Soon, what appeared to be large larvae appeared before them, with four legs in the back portion of its body. With one of the legs, which had a large claw at the end, it swung at Stan.

Stan ran to the side just as the claw came at him. "Missed, you freak!"

Stan looked down at the gun, then over at his brother. _If I shoot this thing, I've got to be careful not to hit Stanford._

Mabel squeezed Dipper's hand. "What do we do? "

Dipper glanced over at his great uncle. "Come on. "

Hugging the wall, he started inching his way over to where Ford was bound. Taking his cue, Wendy, Mabel, and Soos followed.

The shape shifter ran at Stan, but Stan swung at it with the gun, hitting it in the head.

"What's the matter?" the shape shifter asked, turning its head back toward Stan. "Don't know how to use your brother's little toy? "

Stan looked at the switch on the side of the gun. There were three notches, one with an "S", one with a "M" and one with a "D". Currently the switch was set on "S". He looked over at his brother.

 _Aw, Sixer, what do these even mean?_

Leaning back, he shot up at the creature's head.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

A chunk of the shape shifter's head was shot off, and small portions of it landed on Stan.

"Oh, disgusting." The man muttered, dodging the creature's claw again.


	13. Chapter 13

Stan sat up. "That's for messing with my brother, creep show!"

"Grunkle Stan!" Mabel cried, running across the room.

"Mr. Pines!" Soos shouted, heading in the same direction. Wendy and Dipper followed.

"Grunkle Stan, that was awesome!" Dipper said, allowing Stan to lean on his shoulder as he got up off of the ground.

"It was nothing, Dipper. Nothing."

Stan's focus was on the other side of the room. Everyone looked back at the shape shifter's former captive. Stan ran over.

"Stanford!" he cried, pulling his brother's sweater down off of his head. Stanford was crying softly.

Stan held his brother's face in his hands and lifted his head. "Stanford, it's okay. You're safe, now. "

Ford opened his eyes, tears still spilling out of them. For a brief second, Stan noted that they were the same coffee-bean shade of brown that Dipper's were. "Stan—I knew you'd come. I – I knew it. "

He started sobbing again, and Stan let Ford bury his face in his shoulder. "It's okay, Sixer. No one's going to hurt you now. I won't let them. "

Soos wiped his eye.

Wendy saw the bowie knife over on the ground, and ran to pick it up. "Here, Mister Pines, let's get you down. "She said, starting to saw at the ropes that bound Ford's right wrist.

Dipper got out his pocket knife, got down on the floor and started sawing at the rope that bound his great uncle's left ankle. It certainly wasn't as effective as the bowie knife, but it was doing the job.

Wendy got one of Ford's wrists free, and then went to work on the other. She was done getting Ford's right ankle loose by the time Dipper finished with the left.

Ford fell into Stan's arms.

"Are you okay to walk, Sixer?" Stan asked. The others noticed how tightly he was holding on to his brother. Dipper and Mabel cast grins at each other.

"I—I don't think so. I haven't eaten since breakfast the day I left the house."

Ford tried to take a step, and nearly fell. Stan caught him on one side, and Soos caught him on the other.

"Oh, man—I know you're lighter than me, Stanford—but I don't know if I can carry you. "

Soos' face lit up. "I'll go get the truck. "

Wendy shook her head. "I'll go get the truck. No offense, Soos, but I can run faster than you. "

With that she was out the door.

"Help me, Soos." Stan asked, and the two of them lowered Stanford until he was seated on the ground.

Mabel got on her knees and looked into her great-uncle's face. She could see it was streaked with tears. "Great Uncle Ford, are you okay? "

He smiled weakly. "I'll be all right, Mabel. Please don't worry. "

Dipper frowned. Part of his great Uncle's sweater had ridden up, and he could see a burn mark. Looking up at his Grunkle Stan, he was sure that he wouldn't like hearing about anything the shape shifter had done to his twin brother.

"No exploring for at least a month. " Grunkle Stan said, setting his jaw.

Stanford chuckled, then winced. "Stanley…always worrying about me. "

"Yeah, like you haven't given me reason to worry about you." Stan retorted.

Stanford leaned his head on his brother's shoulder and grinned, then yawned.


	14. Chapter 14

"Grunkle Stan, shouldn't we take Great Uncle Ford to the hospital? " Dipper asked.

"No…" Stanford mumbled, his eyes now closed, "How will you explain…"

"You're going to the hospital." Grunkle Stan insisted. "I may not be as smart as you, but I'm good at telling stories. I'll think of something. "

There was no answer from Stanford. His breathing was slow and steady.

"Aww. He fell asleep. "Mabel said.

"He probably hasn't slept well at all." Dipper said, looking over at the wall where his great-uncle had been tied up.

Stan gave his brother a squeeze. "Aw, Stanford, why do you do this to me?"

"Do what, Grunkle Stan? " Mabel asked him.

"Aw—bullies used to pick on Stanford a lot when he was a kid—"their Grunkle explained.

Dipper looked down at one of Great Uncle Ford's hands and sighed.

"—and It broke my heart. Made me flamin' _mad_ , but it broke my heart. Usually it was because of those six fingers of his…so he had twelve fingers, so what? I always felt awful for him then—and I would have beaten anyone who messed with him into the ground. Now _this_ had to go and happen. "

"But, Grunkle Stan," Mabel said, walking around her sleeping great uncle putting her hand on her "Grunkle"'s arm, "You did beat this—well, this 'bully' into the—well-. "

Stan sighed and grinned slightly, casting a glance at his great-niece. "Yeah, sweetie, I guess I did. "

Just then Soos perked up. "Hey, you hear that? "

Mabel and Dipper looked toward the door. They heard the _vroom_ and sputter of the Mystery Shack work truck. After a moment a door slammed, and then Wendy came in.

"Guys, sorry it took me—"

She saw Stanford was asleep, and lowered her voice. "Sorry it took me so long. "

"Thanks for getting the truck, Wendy." Stan said, looking over at his brother and hating to wake him up. "Soos, could you help me? "

Stan got behind his brother and put his arms under Ford's, wrapping them around Ford's chest. With a couple of grunts, he stood up. Soos went to Ford's feet, first replacing the socks and boots that Wendy handed him, then picking Ford up by the legs. Stan looked distressed when Ford groaned a bit.

"It's okay, Stanford. It's going to be all right. "

Dipper and Mabel cast grins and glances at each other as they followed Soos and their Grunkle Stan toward the door. Stan kept saying, "Careful…" as Soos walked backwards toward, and then through the door. Once outside Stan situated Ford, who somehow remained asleep, in the middle of the front seat. Wendy got in the driver's side, and Stan in the other side next to his brother. Dipper, Mabel, and Soos clamored into the truck bed.

"All right guys, let's go. "Wendy said as she started the truck, then spun it around and went back across the meadow.

For a few minutes, there was silence in the cab of the truck except for Ford's breathing. Finally Wendy asked, "Stan, what are you going to tell them at the hospital? "

Stan had placed his arm protectively around Ford's shoulders. "The kids asked me that, too. Like I told them, I'm good at telling stories. "

Wendy just nodded. There was no arguing with that.

For Stan it took far too long to get to the hospital—which was just outside of Gravity Falls' city limits.

Wendy parked right in front of the front entrance, and ran inside. While she was gone, Soos, Dipper and Mabel got out of the truck bed. When an orderly came out the door with a wheelchair, Stan got out of the front seat and pulled his brother out. He and Soos got him situated in the wheelchair, and the orderly took off.

Stan drew a deep breath. "Here goes. "

Everyone went inside, and another orderly stopped them. "You're with the man who was just brought in? "

"Yes." Stan answered. "Where—"

"If you'll please give us your information at the desk—"the orderly said, pointing to a desk where a woman sat to their right—we'll get you settled as soon as we can. "

Stan cast a worried glance down the hall.

"Come on, Stan, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can see how you're brother's doing. I'm sure they're taking care of him. "Wendy assured her boss.

Under his breath Stan said, "They'd better be," then followed Wendy to the desk.


	15. Chapter 15

The nurse at the desk didn't look up from the papers she was writing out even when they stopped in front of it.

"Name of the patient? " she said in a voice that sounded like she was talking through her nose.

Stan set his jaw. "Stanford Pines."

The nurse looked up and over her glasses at them. "—and, what seems to be the problem? "

Dipper looked up at Grunkle Stan, who gritted his teeth and said slowly, "Well, my brother was held hostage by some nut job in the woods, and aside from not feeding him for a day and a half, I don't know what else said nut job _did_ to him. That's what the _doctors_ are supposed to find out, right? "

"I see," the woman said, scribbling on a paper. "—and you are? "

Both Mabel and Dipper saw Stan's fists clench and start to shake. Through his teeth he said, "I'm his identical twin brother—Stanley Pines. "

The woman glanced up at him. "All right. Take a seat and the doctor will be with you shortly. "

Dipper grabbed one of Grunkle Stan's hands and turned him toward the chairs by the wall, and Mabel took his other hand and started to lead him there. Wendy and Soos immediately got in between Stan and the nurse at the desk—knowing that at any moment Stan could turn around and take out his anger.

Wendy thought she heard Stan actually growl as they took seats several feet away from the nurses' station, Dipper and Mabel on either side of Stan and Wendy and Soos across from them.

"Darn incompetent…."

"Mister Pines, I'm sure they'll take real good care of your brother. "Soos said, trying to alleviate the tension.

Stan sighed and shot a glare over his shoulder. "They'd _better_ —hopefully no one else that works in this hospital is like Nurse Ratched over there. "

Dipper looked at Mabel, who had a tear in her eye. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Mabel. Great Uncle Ford is safe, now."

Mabel let the tears fall. "I know—but—why did that awful thing have to do this to him? "

Dipper frowned and looked at the floor. There were some pretty awful things out there—and he and his sister had seen far more of them that summer than anyone their age would have in their lifetime.

Wendy leaned over in her seat and looked Mabel in the face. "Hey, Mabe, Dipper's right. Your Great Uncle Ford is safe, the doctors are taking care of him—"—she glanced at Stan, whose fists were still clenched, and lowered her voice—"—and I think Stan is going to watch him like a hawk for the rest of their lives. "

Mabel grinned at her and wiped a tear away.

Stan exhaled and looked at his watch. "How long are they going to take? "

"So—uh—Mister Pines, how are things coming on the Mystery Shack? "

At first Stan shot a glare in Soos' direction, but he soon realized that the young man was trying to get his mind off of his worrying.

Stan attempted to smile, but it turned out to be more of a grimace. "Well, Soos, it's coming along. Not fast enough for my taste, but whaddaya do. "

"I sure miss it." Soos said.

Stan managed a smile. He knew that Soos looked at him like a father figure. If Stan had ever had a son…

"Well, Soos—even though the Shack's closed, there's still plenty to be done. Come on over and I'll be sure and find something for you to do. "

Soos' face lit up.

"Excuse me—Stanley Pines? "


	16. Chapter 16

Everyone looked up, and Stan stood. A man in a white coat with a stethoscope around his neck and a clipboard in his hand stood at the end of the line of chairs.

"I'm Stanley Pines." Stan announced.

The man smiled under his grey mustache, extending a hand which Stan shook. "I can certainly see the family resemblance—you told my nurse you were the patient's identical twin, yes?"

Stan glared in the direction of the desk. He was surprised "Nurse Ratched" had even been listening. "Yes. Please, how is my brother? "

"He'll be all right—we're taking good care of him, I promise. I'm doctor Feldman, if you'll follow me."

Stan looked back at the others. "Eh—is it all right if the rest of my family comes? "

Dr. Feldman looked at Dipper and Mabel. "Well—"

"Please, sir—we won't cause any trouble." Mabel said, giving the doctor the biggest eyes she could.

"We just want to see our Great Uncle Ford." Dipper added, trying to mimic the look, though Mabel was better at it.

The doctor blinked slowly and grinned. "Very well, follow me, please. "

Dipper and Mabel did their best to be especially quiet. They didn't want to get sent back to the waiting area.

After going down a hall and around a corner, they finally came to room fifteen. Stan went straight to the only occupied bed in the room.

He looked down at his brother, who was breathing slowly and steadily. His clothes had been replaced with a hospital gown, and his glasses lay on the nightstand next to the bed. On the bed's other side, a heart monitor beeped. Stan placed a hand on Ford's head.

"Aw, Sixer…."

He noted an i.v. in Ford's hand. The tube attached led to a bag of clear liquid. He looked at Doctor Feldman and asked, "What's this? "

"Your brother was very dehydrated." The doctor explained. "We're just replenishing his fluids. "

Mabel stood close to the foot of the bed. "When is he gonna wake up? "

Dr. Feldman smiled kindly at her. "When he's ready, honey. Your great uncle just needs his rest right now. "

Stan looked into his brother's face, noting the tear streaks that were still visible. "Eh, Wendy, Soos—take the kids down to the cafeteria and get them something to eat, will you? "

"But Grunkle Stan—"Mabel started, but Dipper looked at her and shook his head.

Wendy took the twenty that Stan was handing back to them, (shocked that he was actually giving them that much), looked at Mabel and Dipper, and jerked her head toward the door.

Dipper cast a concerned glance at his great uncle, who was still asleep, and took Mabel's arm. He had the sneaking suspicion Stan wanted to talk to the doctor about things he didn't want them to hear. "C'mon, Mabel. Maybe Great Uncle Ford will be awake when we get back. "

His sister sighed and went out the door with him.

Stan watched them go. After her was sure they were out of earshot, he turned back to the doctor.

Doctor Feldman was already looking right at him. "I'm guessing you want to know what we found when we examined your brother." He said. "I—need some information about how this happened. "

Stan looked at his sleeping brother. Not returning the doctor's gaze he said, "My brother is a scientist. He'd gone into the woods to find some old place he used to hang out or study stuff or something about twenty-five or thirty years ago, and…he didn't come home when he said he was going to. My employees and niece and nephew went looking for him, and we found out he'd been—"

Stanley took a breath. _Calm down, Stanley_ , he told himself, _Sixer's safe, now—no need to get all worked up again._ Aloud he said, "He'd been—kidnapped—taken hostage, whatever—by some nutjob in the woods. When we found my brother, this whacko had taken him to this abandoned shack and was—"

He had to take a breath again. _Don't get mad, Stanley, don't get mad…._

"…was hitting him with a bicycle chain. "


	17. Chapter 17

Doctor Feldman had pursed his lips and closed his eyes. "I see. And what happened to this man?"

"When we got there and burst in on the guy, he disappeared. I mean, I was more concerned about Stanford—"Stan looked at his brother—"—than that—creep. By the time I had gotten my brother off of the wall where the guy had him tied up, the lowlife was gone. "

"Hmm. I see. "

"So—other than the stuff from the bicycle chain, this jerk didn't do anything else to my brother, did he? "Stan asked. He was partly hoping not, and partly wanting to get the doctor off of the subject of what had happened to Stanford – and who had done it.

The doctor frowned. "Unfortunately, I found some electrical burns on your brother's torso, and one on the bottom of his left foot. "

Stan covered his face with his hands. "No…."

"We've cleaned and bandaged them as well as the other wounds." Doctor Feldman explained. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be a large amount of tissue damage, and if there was, it was superficial. We have your brother on the heart monitor to make sure any electrical shock didn't disrupt the rhythm of his heart. "

For a few moments, Stan kept his face covered. He just wanted to scream, and part of him wished that the shape shifter was there so that he could rip it apart with his bare hands.

Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see the doctor on the side of the bed where he was.

"Your brother's going to be okay." He assured. "I may want you to come back a couple of times so that I can see how his wounds are healing and to change the bandages, but he's going to be okay."

Stan sighed. "Thanks, Doc. "

The doctor moved to leave the room, and then suddenly turned back to Stan. "Did—your brother have a lot of accidents—as a child, or in his early adulthood, or—was he—attacked by any animals? "

Stan thought a moment. "Eh—no, why? "

The doctor frowned. "Well, there are several old scars on his back—some of them are healed on top of each other. "

Stan honestly had no clue what the doctor was talking about. "Well, my brother was gone for several years—he actually just came home not long ago. I had—no idea. "

"I see. Well, I need to make my rounds. I'll talk to you, soon."

Stan watched him go, and then looked back at his brother. _Stanford,_ what happened _to you in that other dimension?_

He took his brother's hand and squeezed it. "No one's ever going to hurt you again. I won't let them. "

Beep…beep…beep—beep-beep-beep…!

"What-?"

Stan looked up at the heart monitor. Suddenly his brother's heart had begun to race. Looking down, he saw that Stanford's head was tossing on the pillow.

"No…" he murmured. "No…please…please don't…"

His voice got slightly louder.

Stan squeezed his brother's hand. "Stanford, I'm here."

"Please don't—stop…"

Stan leaned over and patted his brother's cheek. "Stanford, wake up. It's okay. "

"Stanley, where are you—Stanley, _help me_! "

Stanford's eyes flew open, and he lay there, breathing hard.

A nurse came in. "Is everything all right, Mister Pines?"

Stan looked at the nurse. "It's okay; my brother just had a bad dream. "Turning back to Stanford he said, "It's okay—just breathe easy. You're all right, now. "

Ford tried to breathe more slowly, but it took him a moment to calm down and get his breathing steady. "It—it's all right, miss—I just need—I just need to calm down. "

The nurse came around the bed and held Stanford's wrist a moment, looking at her watch. After a minute she said, "All right. Please try to _stay_ calm, Mister Pines. "

Stanford nodded. The nurse didn't look completely convinced, but left.


	18. Chapter 18

Stan's twin closed his eyes, drew a deep breath, and exhaled.

"Stanford? "

Ford swallowed before opening his eyes and looking at his brother. "It was just a bad dream, Stanley. I'm okay. "

Stan raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm glad _you're_ okay. I was afraid I'd have a heart attack or an aneurism or something the last day and a half. "

He felt Stanford grasp his hand. "Thank you for saving me, Stanley—again. "

Stan smiled. "Eh. The last sixty-two years it's kinda been my job. Besides, what are big brothers for? "

Ford looked confused. "Er—what? Did I end up in some alternate dimension again, or—Stanley, we're _twins_ , remember?"

Ford's brother smiled knowingly. "Y'mean Ma never told you—and here I thought you knew everything. "

"Knew—what?"

"I was born six minutes and forty-eight seconds before you. I guess you needed to get all of those extra brainy smart cells added or something while you were still in there—anyhow, since I was born first, that makes me older than you—which makes me your big brother. "

Stanford rolled his eyes. "Whatever makes you happy. "

Stan smiled, and then something pricked his heart. He leaned over and slipped one arm behind Stanford's neck, leaning his head on his brother's shoulder.

"Stanley? "

"I thought that I was going to lose you again, Sixer—I was—well, I was pretty darn scared. "

Ford blinked slowly, and then placed a hand on Stan's back. "I'm okay, Stanley—thanks to you and the kids. "

Stan gave his brother as best a squeeze as he could, then sat up. "Eh—you're going to be the death o' me. "

Ford just smiled and shook his head.

Stan suddenly thought about what the doctor had said about the scars on his brother's back. "Stanford, what—"

"Great Uncle Ford!"

Stan turned to see Mabel running in the door. Dipper was behind her, slapping himself in the face.

" _Ma-bel_ ," he said through gritted teeth. "We're in a _hospital_ …"

The elder set of twins both chuckled, Though Ford winced after doing so.

"Great Uncle Ford, are you okay? "Mabel asked as Stan lifted her up and set her in his lap so that she would be closer to her second great-uncle.

Ford looked at her a bit sadly, noting the look of deep concern in her eyes.

"I'll be okay, Mabel, "he assured her, reaching out and placing a hand on her cheek. "Thank you—thank all of you. I owe you all my life. "

Dipper came around on the other side of the bed and took his great uncle's other hand. "Great Uncle Ford, you're family. Family looks out for each other. "

"Yeah, and since Mister Pines is like a dad to me, that kinda makes you like my uncle. Or—somethin' like that. "Soos added, looking at the ceiling and trying to figure out if he had the relations right.

"I'm just glad to finally meet you," Wendy said,"—up close and personal, anyway. Wish it hadn't been like this, but—"

Ford smiled. "I wish it hadn't been like this, either, Wendy," he said, yawning, "—but it _is_ a pleasure. "

He yawned again, covering his mouth with his hand.

Stan looked at Soos. "Soos, I want you to take the kids home—and if your abuelita wouldn't mind, I'd like you to stay with them tonight. "

Soos saluted. "Yes, sir. I'll go and give her a call. "

"Where will you, be, Grunkle Stan? "Dipper asked.

"I'm staying with Stanford. "

"But Grunkle Stan—" Mabel started, looking distressed.

"It'll be okay, kids. I'm sure your Great Uncle Ford won't have to be here much longer. "

In a low tone, Wendy said, "Um…"

Stan turned to see that his brother had gone back to sleep.

"Come on, guys. Mr. Pines probably needs his rest, too." Soos instructed Dipper and Mabel. "I mean—your Grunkle Stan Mr. Pines. Actually, both—well, you know what I mean. "

Dipper nodded, then looked into his sleeping great uncle's face. "Feel better soon, Great Uncle Ford. "

Mabel slid off of Grunkle Stan's lap, then stood on her toes and kissed her Great Uncle Ford's cheek. "Come home soon."

Soos walked out the door with them, both Dipper and Mabel casting last farewell glances over their shoulders before they went around the corner. Wendy followed after.

Stan watched them go, then turned back to Ford.

"I guess I'd better ask a nurse or something about sleeping arrangements." He said, looking into his brother's face as if he were awake. "Stanford, what was the doc talking about—all this scar stuff on your back?"

"… _there are several old scars on his back—some of them are healed on top of each other_. "

Stan placed a hand on his brother's head. "When you get home and we get some time alone, you and I are going to have a long talk. "


End file.
